Telephone switchboard



M. J. ARNDT Nov. 4, 1941.

TELEPHONE .SWITCHBOARD Filed March 13, 1940 INVENTOR. MELVIN a MPNDT%yvu ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 Melvin J. Arndt, Penfield, N. Y., assignor to TheStromberg-Carlson Telephone Manufacturing Company, Rochester, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application March 13, 1940, Serial No. 323,756

3 Claims.

This invention relates to telephone switchboards and the like.

In former telephone switchboards it has been the practice to hingedlymount the rear edge of the key shelf thereof to swing about an axisparallel to the front of the switchboard so that it could be swungtoward the jack panel of the switchboard for adjustment and repairs. Themounting of the key shelf in this manner has several disadvantages,since the conductor cable leading to the various apparatus on this shelfis bent at right angles each time the shelf is raised, which hasresulted in wear and breakage of the several wires of the cable at thepoint of bending. It was also necessary to remove the switchboard fromservice whenever the key shelf was raised since this shelf covered thejack panel of the switchboard, thereby preventing the insertion of theplugs of the several cord circuits into the various jacks.

It is a purpose of the present invention to overcome these disadvantagesand to provide an improved switchboard having its key shelf hingedlymounted at one end thereof to a side of the switchboard cabinet so thatthe key shelf,

when raised does not obstruct the jack panel of the switchboard andfurther affords ready access to both sides of the apparatus mounted onthe key shelf.

It is accordingly a feature of this invention to provide an improvedswitchboard having one end of its key shelf hingedly mounted to swingabout an axis at right angles to the plane of the switchboard jackpanel.

It is another feature of the invention to provide an improvedswitchboard having its key shelf hingedly mounted in such a way that thecable is subjected to less wear and strain than in former arrangements.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from the detaileddescription and claims when taken with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a telephone switchboard in which thepresent invention has been incorporated, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fragment of the switchboard shown inFig. 1, with the switch key shelf thereof in its raised or openposition.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character 5 generally indicatesa telephone switchboard having the usual jack panel 6, the plug shelf 1and the key shelf 8. Any desired number of jacks 9 and cooperating plugsH] for the cord circuits (not shown) may be provided as may be required.The key shelf 8 which carries the switch keys II, is mounted to swing onone side 12 of the switchboard cabinet by means of a hinge 13 so thisshelf can be swung about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the jackpanel. The switch keys I I mounted in the key shelf are connected bysuitable conductors [4 which fanout from the cable I5. This cableextends into the cabinet where the various conductors thereof areconnected to telephone apparatus housed therein in the usual manner.

As shown particularly in Fig. 2, this cable extends along the side I2 ofthe switchboard cabinet to which the key shelf 8 is hinged, and thencealong the front edge I6 of this key shelf. With this construction, itwill be seen, that the key shelf can be raised to the position shown inFig. 2 for the addition, replacement or repair of parts pertaining tothe front of the switchboard. Thus in cases of emergency the switchboardcan remain in service during repairs since the jack panel 6 is notobstructed by the key shelf, when raised. It will be noted also that thecable will be subjected to a torsional action, thus insuring a longerlife and less frequent repairs to the cable than in former arrangements.Also, in the present arrangement, the key shelf, since it is mounted atone end, is accessible from both sides thereof so that apparatus mountedthereon can be worked on from both sides whereas in former arrangementsthis apparatus could be reached from only one side.

What I claim:

1. A telephone switchboard cabinet or the like having apparatus mountedtherein, comprising a substantially vertical jack panel, a substantiallyhorizontal plug shelf, a substantially horizontal key shelf mounted atone end thereof on a side of said cabinet to swing with respect to saidjack panel and said plug shelf about an axis substantially perpendicularto the plane of said panel, keys mounted on said key shelf, and aconductor cable having its conductors connected to said apparatus and tosaid keys, said cable being supported on said side of said cabinet alongsaid axis.

2. A telephone switchboard cabinet or the like having apparatus mountedtherein, comprising a substantially vertical jack panel, a substantiallyhorizontal plug shelf, a substantially horizontal key shelf providedwith keys, a hinge by which one end of said key shelf is connected to aside of said cabinet whereby said shelf can swing relative to said plugshelf about an axis perpendicu'lar to said jack panel, and a conductorcable having its conductors connected to said apparatus and to saidkeys, said cable being supported on said side of said cabinet and alongsaid hinge, said cable also extending along a side margin of said keyshelf.

3. A telephone switchboard cabinet or the like having apparatus mountedtherein, comprising a substantially vertical jack panel, a fixed plugshelf, a substantially horizontal key shelf provided with keys, a hingeby which one end of said key shelf is connected to a side of said cabi-10

